Safe and Sound
by sdbubbles
Summary: Michael looks back on how he felt when Jac's mother abandoned her again, and he finds he made her a promise. Set to "Safe and Sound" by Taylor Swift ft. The Civil Wars.
1. Chapter 1

__**A/N: I had to write this - it was niggling at me ever since I first heard the song. it's basically just how Michael feels about Jac and how he feels about what her mother did to her.**

**The song is "Safe and Sound" by Taylor Swift ft. The Civil Wars. **

**Sarah x**

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><p><em>I remember tears streaming down your face<br>When I said, "I'll never let you go."  
>When all those shadows almost killed your light<br>I remember you said, "Don't leave me here alone."  
>But all that's dead and gone and past tonight<em>

Seeing her cry was the most haunting memory Michael had of Jac. Seeing her walk out of that house in tears, doubled over in pain, too weak to stand, was one of his most horrible memories. So when he took her fragile body in her arms, he said nothing to her, but by doing so, by taking her there against his better judgement, he was telling her he wouldn't ever let her go.

She didn't really say anything to him, either. Just that she wanted nothing to do with her mother or her half-sister. But she cried. And that, in Jac's own way, was her begging Michael not to abandon her. And he wouldn't do that to her. He'd always seen her as full of life, even though it made her arrogant and aggressive and a pain to work with. But the darkness of this journey had swallowed her up, and the light in her eyes was gone.

It was over now, though. It was just another part of her past that she resented, and another chapter in her story that had come to an end. Another part of her that died. To be betrayed a second time, after learning to trust her mother, had broken her, and he could see it in her face. He remembered her deathly whitened face, the dullness of the eyes behind the tears, and it wasn't just the infection doing that to her.

_Just close your eyes_  
><em>The sun is going down<em>  
><em>You'll be alright<em>  
><em>No one can hurt you now<em>  
><em>Come morning light<em>  
><em>You and I'll be safe and sound<em>

As she fell asleep, the day turned slowly into night. He could tell she was exhausted from her ordeal, but he knew she would put it behind her. Whether she dealt with the consequences of it or not, she would ignore it and move forward. But it would always be there behind her, waiting to creep up on her. She would be alright, as long as she ran fast enough. As long as it never caught her.

He remembered making the promise to himself to never let someone do this to her again. He could recall thinking to himself, "If that woman comes near Holby City Hospital ever again, I'll keep her the hell away from Jac." It was a promise he intended to keep, no matter what happened between him and Jac in the future. Whether they fell out, whether they became rivals, whether they became mortal enemies, it made no difference; once she recovered from this, it was never going to happen again. He would never let Paula near her again.

When she woke up in the morning, he watched over her, and it was killing him to see her like that. She didn't believe it, but he was going to keep her safe from her mother.

_Don't you dare look out your window darling_  
><em>Everything's on fire<em>  
><em>The war outside our door keeps raging on<em>  
><em>Hold on to this lullaby<em>  
><em>Even when the music's gone<em>

He didn't want her to wake up that morning. He wanted her to sleep just a little longer, so she couldn't feel the searing pain from what happened outside that hospital room. He wanted her to stay in a cool, quiet hospital room, so she could remember who she was before her mother set fire to her heart. That was the way he saw it. He believed that Paula took her daughter, took her trust and her generosity and forgiveness and then grabbed her heart, ripped it apart and set fire to it. He could almost see it.

She was safe in this room. The bland walls protected her from the storm outside, protected her from the past. He knew that, if she could, she would battle with it at every turn, but she didn't have the energy anymore. It had made her who she was, shaped her very personality. She was tough as nails because of what she'd been put through, even if she was cold.

That was why he wanted her to hold on to it, even if it hurt her. He didn't want her to have to wake up and face it, but he wanted her to keep the memories. He knew it would make her even stronger, to know that she lived through that. It would remind her never to trust her mother again, for as long as she lived. As long as she kept this in her mind, even once this was over and done with, she would never make that mistake again.

_Just close your eyes  
>The sun is going down<br>You'll be alright  
>No one can hurt you now<br>Come morning light  
>You and I'll be safe and sound<br>_

He could recall her crying herself silently to sleep while he sneaked glances at her from behind a newspaper. He could recollect wishing she would be able to just drop off and close her eyes and sleep until the sun rose in the morning. But it was hours before she finally managed it. Sunset. She spent hours torturing herself before she was able to sleep when the sun set.

He had resisted the urge to kiss her forehead and tell her she would be alright. It was mainly because he knew there was no way she could be alright. This was going to keep stabbing at her for a while, and she would still wonder why her mother didn't care about her enough to stay, even if she knew deep down that her mother was the one that had a problem, not her.

But for now, while she slept, nobody could hurt her. He could see from her face that there were painful memories weaving into her dreams, though. But they'd already hurt her, and she was only remembering the pain in her dreams. No-one would do her wrong while she slept; he wouldn't let them. He would shield her for as long as she would let him, and do his best from a distance when she pushed him out.

That was how he had known that she wouldn't be OK when morning broke and she woke up. She wouldn't turn and face what had just happened to her. She would start running. He knew her well enough to know that she would take a lesson from it and then start running away. She would let it add another layer of armour to her heart and then run as fast as was humanly possible. That was not a normal person's definition of the would "fine," and he knew that would be the word she would use when he asked her how she was.

_Just close your eyes  
>You'll be alright<br>Come morning light,  
>You and I'll be safe and sound... <em>

So, as he watched her walk away from him, after another dispute, he remembered the promise he had made to both her and himself that day – he would keep her safe and sound.

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><p><strong>Hope it was OK!<strong>

**Please leave a review and tell me what you think!**

**Sarah x**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: So I know this is _ancient_, but it felt right to have some kind of conclusion set at the present time, probably slightly in the future. And I know Jac and Jonny are currently separated, but a girl can dream ;)**

**Sarah x**

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><p>Michael sat, extremely bored, at the bar, having been dragged to this party, Elliot's <em>surprise<em> birthday party, by the over-excited Chantelle under that expecting glare of Serena Campbell that made it impossible to say "no" to the young nurse. The pair had even twisted the arms of the cold Jac Naylor and the extremely antisocial Henrik Hanssen. How they'd managed that, he'd love to know.

He looked around him, watching people dance. Tara and Oliver. Ric and Chantelle. Jac and Jonny. Sacha and Chrissie. Mo and Elliot. And he never thought he'd see the day Hanssen was on the dance floor, even if he was coerced by his newly established – and slightly drunk – sidekick.

Then a song came on – the soundtrack to a movie his daughter had made he mother take her to see – and he sought out Jac. "Do you mind if I dance with her?" he asked Jonny. He couldn't help it; this song, in his mind, was Jac's song. Even after nearly three years passed, it was still her song. Even though it was released long after her ordeal, he still thought of her.

Jonny relinquished his girlfriend to him and kissed her cheek, going to get another drink. Michael gave Jac a smile he knew was softer than he usually gave her, and he saw a curious look in her eyes. He just danced slowly with her, taking in the scene around him. How much had changed in these three years – Chrissie and Sacha were married, Penny was dead, Hanssen had arrived, disappeared and returned, Serena had fallen like a tidal wave onto the hospital, and Jac had a steady boyfriend.

But one things hadn't changed; Michael still remembered that day, and how broken Jac was. She'd built herself up again, even to the point she was able to trust Jonny, but he still saw that haunted look in her eyes when faced with something that stirred those memories.

"How long do you reckon before she breaks her ankle?" Jac asked him quietly, nodding to Serena. She had a point. The woman was drunk, and wasn't wearing very sensible shoes.

"How long do you reckon before he ends up driving her home?" he replied. "I'm actually amazed they haven't killed each other yet. God knows she's stubborn as hell, and he's not exactly flexible himself."

He heard Jac's laughter and saw her smile at him. "They're not _that_ bad," she told him unexpectedly. He saw in her eyes there was something she shared with one of them. An affinity. Ever since she'd come back from Sweden, she'd softened up towards Hanssen, and she'd always got along with Serena.

"And what about you and Jonny?" he asked her, wanting to know she was alright. He knew she'd broken up with him before she gallivanted off to Japan, but then got back with him. "You trust him?"

"Why wouldn't I?" she asked suspiciously.

"Because you've got every reason not to trust anyone," he reminded her. _Don't you dare look out your window, darling, everything's on fire_...the voice sang gently in the background, coinciding curiously with his words.

"And if I don't trust him, what have I really got?" she challenged him, to his surprise. "He's not my mother," she asserted. "He doesn't abandon people, and he's not going to abandon me. He's had plenty of opportunities, and he probably should have by now."

He was surprised by her honesty, and her assertion that she trusted Jonny. "I thought you broke up though? Twice?"

"And both times were my own fault," she revealed. Wow. It wasn't very often Jac Naylor admitted anything was her doing. "Every time we break up, he ends up with me again. It's like..." she trailed off, clearly not quite knowing what to say.

"...like it's meant to be?" he finished for her, finding it hard to believe that Jac had gotten past – as much as possible – her trust issues.

_You'll be alright, no-one can hurt you now_..."He's not gonna hurt me. Even though I keep hurting him, he's never deliberately hurt me."

It was good to see her trust, to see she'd made progress in three years of heartbreak. She'd gone through a lot – to do with her mother, Joseph, Jonny...pretty much everyone. He started smiling at her, shaking his head lightly. "What?!" she demanded.

He didn't reply for a moment, considering what to say. He couldn't really say what was on his mind; he didn't even know where to begin. So instead, he replied, "Nothing," as he pulled her head into his chest, grateful she hadn't given up on the human race. The temptation, he realised, must have been huge sometimes. He was somewhat proud of her for finding the ability to trust Jonny.

He pulled her head into his chest and he could have sworn he felt her smile. _Come morning light, you and I'll be safe and sound_...

He kissed her hair lightly, proud that he'd kept his promise never to let anyone to do to her what that woman did. The song ended and she looked up at him, and he realised she knew what he was thinking: after all of it, she was safe and sound. For now.

"Mr. Spence!" he heard Hanssen's resigned voice ring out for his assistance. He grinned at Jac as Jonny joined them before he went to see what was going on. Serena was holding onto Hanssen, unable to safely stand. "Take this one home, please. Preferably before she throws up all over the floor."

"Sure," he sighed, putting an arm around her waist and the other linked with hers to keep her steady. God, the woman had no sense of moderation sometimes. But once they were in the car, she looked around at him, and he could see she was well aware.

"What was all that with Jac?" she asked curiously.

Michael laughed and said, "Long story..."

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><p><strong>Hope this is OK!<br>Please feel free to leave a review and tell me what you thought!  
>Sarah x<strong>


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